composing 101 with derek thomas. you may be surprised by all of the benefits. >> learn all about that and what do you do when you put bowling balls and a sword together. the answer, comedian magician is going to give us that answer. bringing laughter to us this hour. can't wait to meet him. be careful, sir. let's head downstairs. tucker barnes is there with a look at thursday forecast. >> good morning. we're off to a good start. upper 30s and low 40s to start your day. going to be a nice looking afternoon. more sunshine than yesterday. and a great looking weekend. lots of springtime temperatures for the weekend. as we've been talking about, we're still expecting highs in the 60s around here by saturday and sunday. it only gets better and better as we get closer to the weekend. 47 in washington. 43 out at dulles . we're

forecasting highs in the low 50s today. should be plenty of sunshine. we have cloud cover to start your day. not going to be a perfectly sunny day. and we're thinking, we in the weather community are thinking we're not going to get rain. i think that's pretty much a guarantee. tomorrow and tomorrow night showers will reason and that will set us up for a warm weekend. 51 in washington. annapolis and manassas and dulles upper 40s to 50. more details on the weather. back to you. >> appreciate it, tucker. a news alert this morning. don't let this weekend's warm weather fool you about the germs that are spreading. flu cases are on the rise. if you didn't get the flu shot, you may want to reconsider. more than 2300 people have been diagnosed with the flu. emergency room visits have increased between 10 and

20%. and children's visits have spiked about 25%. to boston now where officials have declared a public health emergency after 700 cases confirmed. that's compared to 70 case inside all of last year. doctors say not everyone with symptoms needs to go to the emergency room. >> if you get sick, the best thing to do is if you are healthy, take tylenol or ibuprofin. get rest and stay warm. look for signs. >> for adults those complications include chest pains or shortness of breath. for kids, parents should look out for respiratory distress. not too late to get that flu shot. this year's vaccine protects against multiple strains of the virus. >> taking a look at the other top stories this morning. vice president joe bide scene scheduled to meet with the nra.

president obama is asking congress for several provisions including banning military assault rifles and high capacity magazines. yesterday, biden and attorney general met with two survivors of the virginia tech shooting. the obama administration will act quickly to curve gun violence. some startling new numbers. a study finds more americans die of violent deaths than any other wealthy country in the world. 6 deaths per 100,000 residents. none of the other countries came close to that number. highest rate of firearm ownership. 89 people own firearms for every 100 people in the u.s. that's about 35 to 50% of the world's civilian owned firearms. also ranked the lowest in life expectancy. 75 years for men and 80 years for women.

>> the preliminary hearing for suspected colorado movie theater shooter james holmes has ended. a judge will decide whether there is enough evidence to send him to trial. cell phone images holmes took of himself were displayed in a courtroom. one of the pictures showing him grinning. several victims and family members were at the final day of the hearings. >> clearly he's mentally disturbed. he shot up a hole movie theater. do i think he's insane? no. >> he's not crazy one bit. he's very very cold . he's very calculated. >> holmes defense attorneys did not call any witnesses and are expected to claim insanitiy. if the case does go to trial, he will most likely be sent to the state mental hospital. >> jerry sandusky will be back in court today. attorneys for the former penn state football coach want a new trial.

they say they did not have enough time to prepare for his child sex abuse trial. dc police officers charged with having sex with an under age girl. palmer worked in the 6th district. investigators say a woman came forward last march and accused palmer of assaulting her at 11 years old. palmer was director of the youth choir of the church at the time. the woman says that the abuse lasted for two years. a worker at a day care is accused of kicking a 2 year old. melanie alnwick back with us now. >> the parents may never have known what was going on after they dropped their children off. if it hadn't been caught on a cell phone camera. police arrested 19-year-old jonathan

cummings and charged him with child abuse. detectives say he admitted to kicking a two year old boy under his care last friday. we're told that an older child at the day care actually videotaped the assault on a cell phone and reported it to adults who took the evidence to police. an investigation found the day care was unlicensed. neighbors believe he was helping to care for as many as 30 or 40 children there. >> that's unbelievable. and then unlicensed on top of that. oh, my god. is the home large enough to accommodate that many children, number one? and number two, can you provide the right amount of care at that time? >> i hope the child is okay. me being a parent, i'm picking my daughter up from day care. it's like a concern, you know. >> he has been released on $35,000 bond. maryland state office of child care has ordered the homeowners to stop taking in children. police are not releasing that cell phone video.

detectives believe there may be other victims and anyone with information contact prince georges police. you can go to our web site, myfoxdc.com. we have added a link for finding licensed child care providers. >> thank you very much. sports breakfast time. mayor vincent gray lost the bet on the skins and seahawks game. the losing city had to fly the winning city's flag for one day. it will be up until 5:00 tonight. now, red skin's quarterback robert griffin iii has a long recovery ahead of him. yesterday doctors repaired ligaments to griffin's right knee. his new challenge is to be ready for next season. check in with the sports junkies. 106.7 the fan. good to see you again. >> by the way, wisdom. why weren't you in studio when eb

had to payoff his bet? instead of this wimpy bet where you are talking about a flag. flew it over seattle and smacked a part. >> i missed all that. >> that's a real bet. >> he actually took his pants off. >> definitely did. >> can't do that here on fox 5. >> no. can't do that here on fox 5. no, no, no. this is a family program. people are still getting ready to go to work. let's talk about rgiii and that knee. we heard the speculation and all the talk. what do you guys think about whether he'll be ready for next year or not? >> i'm optimistic. you see guys get back on the field in one season. wes welcker did it faster than adrian peterson. he's the type of guy who is

going to do everything he can to get back on the field and fully healthy. >> i think as a whole, we don't want the redskins to rush the recovery. seems like a lot of the story line, hope he's back and ready for the 2013 season. if he's not ready don't push him on the field. >> the honest answer is nobody knows. i would say that it's going to be probably on the back end of that 6 to 8. maybe closer to 9 months than 6 months. this is the second major surgery. and not just on the acl but lcl. everyone is different. everyone's recovery time is different. peterson was 6 months. but i think this will be closer to 9. >> for me, i'm more concerned with how is he going to be when it's done? whether it's 6 months or 18 months. i choose whichever option gets him closer to 100%. we may never get to 100%. some have.

but whatever option gets him closer to 100%, that's what i want. >> i have another question for you. it's not related to rgiii. you guys are going to be tv stars cause you have a new tv show. it's called table manners. tell me all about that. >> it debuts february 5th on comcast sportsnet and it's the junks hanging out with celebrity or sports figure enjoying dinner at the palms. it's all conversational. we have a good time discussing their careers. what they've been dog since they stopped playing. and it's worth tuning in for. just eves dropping on a conversation and it's going to be fun. >> and we will be wearing top hats and tuxedos. >> that's a great promo with you kicking the all. >> those are four handsome uys. >> good looking guys there, wisdom. >> you guys aren't bad looking

as television goes. >> thank you. thank you. >> right back at you, brother. >> in radio, we're even better. >> we're brad pitt for radio. >> we're almost out of time. any insight on to who any of your next couple guests will be for that tv show? >> sure. i believe our opening episode, it's not official but jeremy ronik. and sat down with steve largen. and a little curve ball, chris hansen. you know him from to catch a predator. >> you never want to be featured on that show like ever. >> nfl hall of famer and a guy who is in maryland's basketball game. >> if you ever see chris hansen coming up your steps, don't answer the door. >> i'm running for cover. guys, thank you very much . good luck with the show. we appreciate your time this morning. >> thank you.

and thank you, pal. we'll have you on some time. >> sure. i'll talk about my old days at jackson state university. very short conversation. see you, guys. >> all right. confused by your taxes? the irs understands why. what it's calling for straight ahead. >> checking up so you don't bottom out. the new rules that lenders will have to play by when approving you for a mortgage. >> attention grabbing handwriting may be the least of his worries right now. he needs senate. doug luzader has a look at the president's cabinet changes when we come back. it's 9:12. 

 (woman) 3 days of walking to give a break cancer survivor a lifetime-- that's definitely a fair trade. it was such a beautiful experience. (jessica lee) ♪ and it's beautiful (woman) why walk 60 miles in the boldest breast cancer event in history? because your efforts help komen serve millions of women and men facing breast cancer every year. visit the3day.org to register or to request more information and receive a free 3-day bracelet today. it was 3 days of pure joy. ♪ and it's beautiful

next time you buy a home or refinance your current mortgage. new rules may act in your favor. the consumer financial

protection bureau is requiring bafrpgs to verify borrower's records. that will help ensure they can repay the loans they take out. the rules that start next year will limit up front fees and interest only payments. the loans that led to housing that bubble will also be banned. we're going to get a lot more details when the cfpb announces regulations later today. president obama is picking jack lew as his next secretary treasury. he could face a tough confirmation battle. >> as a number cruncher, jack lew's resume is solid. and by all indications, he has proved himself again and again to the president. >> over the past more than quarter of a century jack lew has been an integral part of some of the most important budgetary, financial and fiscal agreements in washington.

>> one agreement he may not want to take credit for though, is the now despised fiscal cliff. according to the washington post, lew was the architect of those threatening across the board spending cuts that drove congress to the brink. and some republicans say he hasn't been honest about debts and deficits. >> i would rate it as a bumpy confirmation process. the american people need to know the secretary of treasury will tell them the truth about the financial conditions of this country. >> democrats see lew as someone who will go toe to toe with republicans. >> even though he has attended some republicans by his behavior and the negotiations, the president likes him and they won't go to the gnats over this. >> one of the job is to sign the current see. this dollar bill has tim geithner's signature on it. what does jack

lew's signature look like? we have one document after another that bears his signature. and there it is. this is how it would look on a dollar bill. in washington, doug luzader, fox news. >> as long as it's on money, it looks okay to me. the irs is calling on congress to simplify the tax code. the u.s. tax law contains more than 4 million words. trying to fill out their tax returns. that's according to the internal revenue services omsbu dsm an. 60% of filers will end up hiring someone else to do their taxes. >> probably a great way to go so you don't have to worry about messing it up and getting a call saying you owe me. >> great news for local schools. find out who ranks the best in the nation. >> and how about a bowl of humor for breakfast this

morning. comedian/magician kevin lee is live. and he's serving up a performance you want to stick around for. time to check in with holly morris. >> reporter: you know what could be funny? we're doing antique appraisals and allison sent something in and might be worth something. we'll see. look, appraisals are one of the things going on. it's for two hours only. the show lasts for a whole lot more. all of it live later on fox 5 morning news. stay with us. we set our goals higher than anyone.

perdue is the first and the only chicken company to have usda process verified programs for fresh, all natural chicken. our chickens are not fed steroids or hormones. [ jim ] we raise our chickens cage-free. we're trying to make a better chicken.

 (woman) 3 days of walking to give a break cancer survivor a lifetime-- that's definitely a fair trade. whoo! you walk with friends, you meet new friends, and you keep those friendships. it was such a beautiful experience. (jessica lee) ♪ and it's beautiful ♪ undeniable (woman) why walk 60 miles in the boldest breast cancer event in history? because everyone deserves a lifetime. visit the3day.org to register or to request more information and receive a free 3-day bracelet today. ♪ building up from deep inside it was 3 days of pure joy. susan g. komen's investments in early detection and treatment have helped reduce breast cancer mortality in the u.s. by 33% since 1990. help us continue serving the millions of women and men with breast cancer who still need us every day. register for the 3-day now. (woman) it's just been an amazing, amazing journey. i love these people. ♪ and it's beautiful

that i put on my children's plate. that's why we use all-white meat, breading that is whole grain with omega-3 and no preservatives. it is my goal to make the highest quality, best-tasting nugget on the market. i want consumers to go, "dang, that's a good nugget." celebrities who welcome barack obama into second term. announced the line up for president obama's second inauguration. beyonce will sing the national anthem. kelly clarkson will perform. and james taylor will sing america

the beautiful. the ceremony is january 21st. the second inauguration is a week and a half away. and when he takes the oath of office. this time he'll be using two bibles instead of the traditional one. the president will use a bible owned by dr. martin luther king junior. and abraham lincoln. it is also a federal holiday honoring dr. king's birthday. >> new this morning, maryland's public schools are at the top of a new list ranking the best in the nation. quality counts 2013 gave the state's schools b plus. virginia comes in 4th. dc schools rank 45th. the list take several factors into account including graduation rate and education funding. >> here's a story for you. cool or gross? >> i'll take cool. >> no.

one company introduces the ipottie. the poosabilities. get it? >> did you like doing all that? >> i did love that. >> plus, saving room, money and the environment. you don't have it, you don't have a compose. stick around for derek thomas's tips for going green. >> are we still talking poo? we'll be right back. hmm, it says here that cheerios helps lower cholesterol

as part of a heart healthy diet. that's true. ...but you still have to go to the gym. ♪ the one and only, cheerios ...and now... you! [ giggles ] ♪ the one and only, cheerios

rumors are flying about facebook. sent out invites for an event january 15th that reads come and see what we're building. insiders are speculating facebook may be introducing own smart phone or a new operating system. >> oh, geez. toddlers could soon be doing web surfing while

on the pottie. behold the ipotty. unveiled at the show in las vegas. high tech take on toilet training that has an attachment for the ipad. go on sale in march. it will sell for just about $40. >> i don't want my ipad. >> don't want your ipad near any of that stuff. >> no. i don't know how it really works. >> that needs to go down as not a good idea. >> i don't get it. why would you? >> right . if you do a game right. are you supposed to -- >> even if you are going to let your child which could be a great learning tool. can't they wait a couple minutes? >> yeah. they got to wait. >> maybe they do learning in there and ipad later. >> we didn't have any ipads. >> and look how we turned out. >> just fine. >> that's right. >> what's up, tucker? >> looks good today.

wisdom is just getting started. >> we don't have enough time for me to get started up here. >> 46 in leonard town. going to be a very nice day. not going to be the springtime warmth we're talking about for the weekend. our average daytime high now for january the 10th. should only be about 43 and we're already doing that for most of the area here. highs later today. back in the low 50s. should be a comfortable day. more sunshine than yesterday. got a little rain shower yesterday. my apologies. wasn't planning on that . 44 in baltimore. 41 in winchester. looking at our sat ellite radar. we should see more sunshine yesterday. off to the south and west, we have our developing storm system. and that will bring us more in the way of cloud cover tonight and a better and better chance of rain showers around here tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night. temperatures are too warm to sport any winter weather this

time around. high pressure, bit of a northwest wind today. a little cool. it will feel cool. and later tonight and tomorrow the warm front starts to approach from the south and west. let me first emphasize, the energy is going to get pushed into the great lakes. later tomorrow, we'll get showers in here. tomorrow night a few showers and behind this front for the weekend, north of us. o temperatures are going to take a big time jump. get ready for springtime warmth here by saturday and sunday. mostly sunny. very nice, pleasant quiet afternoon. we'll cloud up tonight with overnight lows about 40 degrees. here's a look at your accu weather 7 day forecast. i want to emphasize after we get the showers out of here early saturday, we are looking fantastic for the weekend. with high temperatures pushing 70 degrees on sunday, should feel good. everyday time temperature here and nighttime temperature for that matter well

above average. we will get colder air by the middle and end of next week. that's weather, allison, let's learn about the garden. over to you. >> it doesn't cost a dime and it ♪ tell me something good ♪ . >> no, no, no. tomorrow is friday. i'm ready for another year of ask allison. send me your questions. head over to

myfoxdc.com and click on the morning tab link there. i answer questions every friday morning in our 9:00 hour. >> i like your music. >> isn't it good? >> yeah, that's your music. >> you need your own theme song with your name in it. >> okay. we know some people. >> this morning we have been taking a look at antiques from the washington winter show. that gives you time to go through your attic or closet to see if you might have hidden treasures. >> holly morris is getting a few items appraised live. good morning to you, holly. any luck yet? >> reporter: good morning, to you. you are going to have to watch and listen in terms of if we have any trash or treasure here with us this morning. when it comes to the appraisals they do do them from 9 to 11 on saturday. that's the only time it's a maximum of three items. and each item cost $10 for you to get appraised. meanwhile, we thought it would be fun to have

people from the station give us some items. fox 5 staffer has brought in this clock. and allison seymour brought in what she described as this jade man. now, i have two professionals here help us discern what these are. i'm going to start with joel franco. they specialize in asian art. so, joel, i'm handing it over to you. >> very well, thank you. one thing that you said, allison, before is you use this term jade. this is stylized jade. it is not jade. it's looking like a spinach jade. it's soapstone. which is a much softer stone. and value is greatly different.

great difference. >> i love how you choose words. the value is greatly difference. >> if this was jade it would have a significant value because jade is approved by the chinese in particular. soapstone was a lesser type stone. this is more commercial and probably made more for export market. probably to western people. the figure itself is a dignitary. we determine that by his attire. >> does it matter if someone of importance owns this? >> well, if people -- to me, the piece should speak for itself. that's my belief. whoever owned it, doesn't change what the piece is. >> so what would be the value

of that piece? >> in its present state, the condition factors we're looking for. i noticed the head bands here were both broken off. i have to have time for the clock too. >> otherwise, everything seems to be originals. value for some like this is under $200. >> all right. well, we'll see if she had better luck. specializes in silver really. but first of all, tell us about the clock. what you know about it. >> i'm 46 so i'll tell my age. i'll remember this when i was a little girl and it was at my great aunt's house. and i was always fascinated with it. and try to figure how do you wind it and my mom said please don't throw away my clock. please get it appraised. >> well, she did much better than allison. sorry to say.

this is an at mus clock. it's made will i lacultra. started in 1883. merged with a company called yager. the amazing part about this clock is it runs on a temperature change. a very slight temperature change in a room can run this clock for days. there's no winding or battery. hence the name atmus. >> cut to the chase. >> this clock is worth between $1500 and $2500. and maybe more. >> that is so nice you want to give it to me. no. okay. listen, this is just an example of what can happen. and what needs to happen this weekend. it happens today. take advantage of all that is here. myfoxdc.com is our web site. we have a link to theirs.

it's a $20 ticket for a three day run. don't just come on any day. it's for a two hour time frame only saturday 9 to 11. three item maximum. $10 per each one. thank you both. all right. back to you. sorry, allison. >> that's okay. it's historical value to me and over 100 years old. bring my baby back to me. thank you for doing that. i appreciate it. >> i'll throw it in my bag. it's good. >> no , don't do that. wisdom, over to you. >> thank you very much. if there was ever a comedian to see it's kevin lee. unique combination of comedy magic, audiences in awe and stitches. he began his career in dc at the comedy cafe and national shows and hbo's def comedy jam.

come over here. >> how are you doing? >> good to meet you. back in the day you know tony perkins. >> excuse me. >> all right. there you go. >> get that out of there. >> what's that for? >> i don't know. that was in there. >> you know tony perkins. >> he's going to show us some of the magic. >> i get out of it about 60 minutes on set. who has seen the straight jacket escape? no reason to do it. we'll do something else. a bottle of wine. we're going to get to that later. from any 7-11. hold the apple for me. and also a hammer . okay. that's a fake hammer. >> you got me on that one. >> you ever been hit with a

hammer before. >> place the bottle in the back. pretty spectacular. watch closely. place the bottle in the bag. magic word. wisdom. bam, gone . thank you. this is why they pay me the big bucks. anyway , thank you very much. i'm impressed. >>. >> how did you get started being a magician? >> i was watching the jerry lewis telethon performing and i was like that's what i want to do for a living. got books from the library. never returned those books. >> still racking up fees. >> taught myself and went on to perform all over the world.

>> it's a knife. don't try this at home, folks. once you get to work, it's a lot easier. are you ready? that really didn't go down. okay. drum roll, thank you. does that give you heart burn? >> is it hard learning how to do these things? >> it takes practice and skill. to get out of a straight jacket takes a lot of work. >> and it's a real straight jacket. >> that's the new calvin cline straight jacket. anyway, we're going to come back later and juggle a 12 pound bowling ball on fire. and a raiser

sharp knife. and i perform on hbo and come back and do the flaming bowling ball. >> see if we can get allison to do this. >> you should be. i'm not that good. see if we can get this done. appreciate it. >> all right. okay. so one more question for you. i know when you are a comedian, you ever have anybody heckle you and you are like what? >> people heckle a guy with a knife. that's smart. makes you do crazy things. i get a lot of hecklers and take care of them well. >> you do have the knife and the fire. not a good idea. >> not a good idea to heckle me. people do try. and fail. we're going to go to break. when we come back, you are going to light this, juggle this and have this. >> and you are going to eat the apple. >> while you are juggling with the knife and fire. >> and all that crazy stuff. >> we're going to be back in a moment. you are going to be at

this place right here. >> this weekend you can catch me. tonight and all week. i'll be there. with my knife. >> and the apple. >> and no hecklers. hecklers.

all right. welcome back. all right. a lion on a lamb in virginia. just kidding. this adorable pup charles sure had a bunch of people fooled. the police department receives several calls after charles was seen around town. resemble the old dominion mascot. he also likes to tailgate at football games. >> be careful though. people can be kind of nervous. time for our pet of the day. we say hello to peaches and gizzy. how cute. their

owner says like mother like daughter. one of 6 kittens peaches had two months ago. for your pet's chance to be pet of the day e-mail petpix@wttg.com. >> 50 degrees daytime high. should be nice sxafrn gorgeous weekend. we'll have clouds around saturday and sunday. 62 saturday. upper 60s on sunday. let me mention shower s late tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night. >> kevin lee. >> i'm here. >> one minute left in the show. he set stuff on fire. and an apple. it's all on you now. >> you're sweating like kevin garnet getting on a bus right now. >> bowling ball juggling. don't try that at home. >> okay. i cannot look at this. watch.

>> wow. >> very good. >> all your limbs are still in place and didn't burn anything up. >> but i'm choking here. >> kevinly, thank you very much. good to see you. thank you for coming